


A Month and a Mandrake

by etymolodrarry



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animagus, Asexual Peter Pettigrew, Bisexual Remus Lupin, Coming Out, Established Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, French Sirius Black, Friends to Lovers, Gay Sirius Black, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Long Form, M/M, Magical Theory (Harry Potter), Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Minor James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Mutual Pining, Process of Becoming an Animagus, Slow Burn, Swearing, The Lip-Lock Jinx, The Marauders secretly become Animagi for Remus, Welsh Remus Lupin, Werewolves, cassisluna, except they're kinda shit at keeping secrets, inspired by Lip-Lock Jinx by cassisluna, kinda slow burn, long form fanfiction, minor smut, oh and theres some swearing, sirius also knows latin bc why not, so much magical theory, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29200332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etymolodrarry/pseuds/etymolodrarry
Summary: The first step to becoming an Animagus is to hold a Mandrake leaf in your mouth for a full month. The trouble is, it's very difficult to speak clearly with a leaf adhered to the roof of your mouth (especially when you're trying to hide it from your best friend.)
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 26
Kudos: 84





	1. Peter Has An Idea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cassisluna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassisluna/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Lip-Lock Jinx](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7086799) by [cassisluna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassisluna/pseuds/cassisluna). 



> Some things to note before we get started:  
> \- takes place in sixth year (diverges from canon in that sense)  
> \- there are virtually no references to the war or Voldemort  
> \- "The Prank" does NOT happen in this storyline!!!
> 
> So anyways, I've been working on this fic for nearly six months and I'm finally starting to post it! Check out my Instagram (@etymolo.drarry) for frequent updates :)

* * *

Sirius snapped the textbook shut, not even bothering to finish the paragraph he was on. Reading about werewolves’ _“murderous tendencies”_ wasn’t doing him any good. “I can’t find _anything,_ James,” he complained, keeping his voice quiet so as to not wake Remus.

“Give it a rest for tonight, yeah?” James gently took the copy of _Beasts of Classical Antiquity_ out of Sirius's hands and gathered the rest of the books strewn across the bed. “We can keep looking tomorrow.”

“We’ve been looking for _months!”_ Sirius whined. They’d been trying to find a way to help Remus with his transformations since the end of fourth year, when Remus finally came clean. “I just want to _help_ him.” He looked over at the bundle of blankets to his right, where Remus was lightly snoring, fast asleep. Only his face was peeking out, but Sirius knew that his body was wrapped in fresh bandages. The transformations seemed to be getting worse and worse—though Remus tried not to complain. Thankfully, the full moon had landed on a Friday, so he had plenty of time to rest.

“I know,” James put a hand on Sirius's shoulder. “Me too.”

They both winced at the sound of the door swinging open, even though they knew Remus was a deep sleeper— _especially_ on the day after the full moon. 

“Did you find anything, guys?” Peter had a few books of his own tucked under his arm, along with his sketchbook, and he tossed them onto Sirius's bed before sitting on the edge of the mattress.

“Absolutely nothing,” Sirius grumbled. He was getting increasingly frustrated—how could there be so many books on lycanthropy when they _all_ repeated the same information over and over again?

“I might have something,” Peter said, and they looked at him in astonishment.

“What is it? What’d you find?”

Peter shoved aside the other textbooks and flipped open a copy of _Creatures of Modern Britain_ to the page he’d bookmarked with a scrap of parchment.

“Madam Pince is going to _kill_ you for that,” James pointed to where Peter had underlined a few sentences in ink.

“Relax, it’s disappearing ink. I’ll just use a Concealer before I return it,” Peter waved him off before pointing at the underlined section, a hesitant smile on his face. “Look at this."

“Well, it’s too bad we aren’t animals,” Sirius kept his eyes fixed on the page. “What’s your point, Peter?”

“That _is_ my point,” Peter answered, his grin growing wider. “What if we _were?”_

“Oh!” Sirius snapped his fingers, “what was it—” he pressed his fingers to his temples, glaring furiously at the bedspread as if it contained the answer.. “What did McGonagall call it—that animal thing? From third year?”

“Animagi,” Peter supplied.

“Yes! Animagi!” Sirius pointed at Peter, then looked at James. “What if we became Animagi?”

“Isn’t it extremely difficult to become one?” James asked doubtfully.

“Difficult, but not _impossible,”_ Sirius insisted, “I want to give it a shot.”

James looked to Sirius, then to Peter, and deflated. “ _Fine,”_ he conceded, “we’ll start researching tomorrow.”

“Well, actually, I was—”

“You are _not_ going to the bloody library _now_ , Sirius!” James hissed. “You need to get some _sleep_.”

Sirius huffed, getting up to start getting ready for bed. “You say that as if _you_ weren’t out until two in the bloody morning the last three nights,” he grumbled under his breath, but James didn’t hear him.

* * *

“This is _ridiculous,”_ Sirius let his head fall onto the pages of _Creature Transformations._ “You have to keep a mandrake leaf in your mouth for a whole _month?”_

James grimaced. “Can’t wait to do _that,_ ” he said sarcastically, “I heard they taste horrible.”

“But _why?_ Why do you have to keep it in your mouth for a whole _month?_ And why a _mandrake,_ of all things?”

“Maybe because they’re kind of like humans?” James questioned.

“It says here that it has to do with your magical core,” Peter commented, reading from his book. “ _The alkalescent properties of the mandrake leaf makes the magical core more flexible, ultimately allowing it to tolerate the Animagus form.”_

“That sucks,” Sirius sighed, “looks like we’re going to have to raid Greenhouse Three.”

“What comes next?” James looked up from the book he was reading.

“You use the mandrake leaf in a potion,” Sirius skimmed the page, “but— _shit,_ it has to be during a full moon.”

“The _full moon?_ _Really?”_ James buried his face in his hands, “we’re going to have to be _so careful.”_

Sirius nodded, adding to his notes and peering back at the textbook, “and after we make the potion, we have to wait until a lightning storm to actually _drink_ it.”

“Bloody hell, why is it so _complicated?”_ Peter leaned back into his chair.

“Hey, I haven’t even told you what goes in the potion,” Sirius replied, “we need one of our hairs, a _‘silver teaspoon of dew, taken from a place that has not seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven days,’_ and…the chrysalis of a Death’s-head Hawk Moth, whatever _that_ is. And what’s a chrysalis?”

“It’s like a cocoon, but for butterflies,” Peter explained. “What?” he added, when James and Sirius gave him a strange look, “My mum is into butterfly watching.”

“But it's a _moth,_ not a _butterfly.”_ Sirius pointed out. “Why is it still called a chrysalis?”

“Lemme see that,” James reached for the textbook and pulled it towards him, ignoring Sirius's question. “I think my dad uses that,” he said as he studied the page, “in one of his potions for eyesight.”

“So, _hypothetically,_ we could just _ask_ him for some,” Sirius suggested.

“Yeah, I guess,” James shrugged, “but we still need to figure out the _rest_ of the potion.” 

“I’ll start looking,” Peter stood from his chair to look for more books, but paused when Sirius raised his hand to stop him.

“Isn’t it nearly lunchtime?” He looked between Peter and James for confirmation, “Remus will be waking up soon.”

“Oh,” James frowned, and he started gathering up the textbooks they didn’t need anymore. “How do you know he’ll be awake?”

“He _always_ wakes up at noon after a full moon, you didn’t notice that?”

James looked at Peter as if to say, _“did you know that?”_

Peter only shrugged back, tucking a few books under his arm to return to Madam Pince.

Once the last of the books had been either put away or checked out, they stopped by the kitchen to get a tray of lunch for Remus. His stomach was always queasy after a full moon, so Sirius was careful to get blander foods, if he could help it. He’d nicked a Stomach Soother from Madam Pomfrey that morning in case Remus needed it, too.

“Ah, Remus! You’re awake!” James kicked the door to their dorm open, tapping the tray with his wand to remove the Disillusionment Charm he’d placed on it. “Got you some lunch—well, breakfast, technically.”

Remus struggled to sit up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and squinting at his friends. “Thanks, guys.” He protested a little when Sirius grabbed a pillow from his own bed to tuck behind Remus, but smiled gratefully once he was properly sitting up. He was still getting used to having his friends help him after the full moon—up until recently, he’d spend most of his recovery in the Hospital Wing, rather than his dorm. 

He ate quietly for a few minutes until he glanced up at his friends, suddenly realizing how quiet they’d been.

“What have you guys been doing?” He narrowed his eyes, and James, Sirius and Peter tried their best to act natural.

_Shit,_ Sirius knew he was a terrible liar, but he didn’t think Remus would catch on _this_ quickly. “Just—you know, studying,” he said weakly, fumbling in his bag for his potions textbook. “See?” he grinned triumphantly, “potions.”

Remus only became more suspicious. “I haven’t seen you use that textbook since the beginning of term,” he said dryly, “and _that_ was when you used it to launch a bludger at the Slytherins. You aren’t—” he glanced at James and Peter. “You aren’t planning a _prank,_ are you?”

James took the opportunity to gasp dramatically, pressing a hand to his chest. “ _What?”_ He exclaimed, “ _Us,_ plan a _prank?_ Without our Moony? You _wound_ me, Remus. We could _never_ leave you out of a prank.”

Remus rolled his eyes, returning to his food. “Oh, shut it, you had no problem leaving me out of your pranks in first year," he grumbled, “and hey, what did I say about calling me that!” 

“Does it bother you?” James asked uncertainly, “I mean, I don’t _have_ to use it. I just think its funny.” He waited while Remus appeared to hesitate. “I could always call you Loony Lupin instead,” he said cheerfully.

Remus snorted into his cup of water. “I mean, it’s _weird,_ but I guess it’s fine. If anything, it kind of tells me that you’re okay with me being, well, you know.”

“Well, of _course_ we’re okay with it,” Sirius insisted.

“Why _wouldn’t_ we be?” Peter interjected, pausing when Remus gave him a look. “Okay, you know what I meant!”

Remus rolled his eyes in amusement. “Hey, isn’t it lunch time? Why aren’t you eating? Go eat lunch!”

“Fine, we’re _going,”_ James raised his hands in mock-defense. “Do you need anything else?”

“No! Go on, I’m _fine,”_ Remus insisted, waving his hands at them until they’d gone out the door. He looked to the foot of the bed, where Sirius was still perched. “You too,” he said to Sirius, folding his arms across his chest.

Sirius crossed his arms back.

“Go to lunch, Sirius,” he rolled his eyes.

Sirius laughed at him. “You’re like a grandpa, telling us kids to get off your lawn.” Sirius set the stomach soother on the tray with a wink before he left. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magical theory fun facts:
> 
> In canon, [Professor Marlowe Forfang](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Marlowe_Forfang) is an actual researcher on lycanthropy! The Animagus potion listed here is canon as well.
> 
> Lastly, the ["alkalescent properties"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrake#Toxicity) of mandrake leaves is a reference to the tropane alkaloids present in actual, real-life mandrake leaves (which is why they're poisonous as hell)


	2. Visiting The Library

“We have a problem,” Sirius announced as he joined James and Peter in the library.

James gave him an odd look. “I thought you had Arithmancy with Remus.”

“I skipped,” Sirius answered, climbing over James's bag to sit down. He slapped a crumpled handful of elm leaves onto the table and started to flatten one out with his fingers. Then, he put it in his mouth.

“What are you—”

“Ith hard th thalk n’lly with leaveth in your mouth.” Sirius demonstrated, “I ‘unno what we’re going to do about ih.”

James sighed. “Sirius, take that leaf out of your mouth, you don’t know where it’s been.”

“It’s been on a tree.” Sirius told him, spitting the leaf into his hand, “but really, how are we going to go around, talking like that for a _month?”_

“Does it _have_ to be for an entire month?” James complained “How important is it to the process, really?”

“There’s a section on mandrake leaves in here, I think,” Peter began flipping through the textbook on his lap, “hang on.”

“We could just not talk,” James suggested.

 _“ You?_ Not talk for a _month?”_ Sirius raised his eyebrows. “Even if you were _willing,_ there’s no way you’d manage it.”

“Hey, I’ve stayed silent before!”

“Yeah, for a _day,_ when Evans said you didn’t have the self control to shut up for that long.”

“I found it!” Peter interrupted, and he cleared his throat. _“The concept of human-animal Self-Transfiguration has existed since Mycenaean Greece, however it was not until the Classical Greece period that the first Animagus successfully transformed and_ — _”_

“Peter,” Sirius interjected, “you don’t have to read the whole thing out loud, just show us the page.”

“Oh, yeah.” Peter stood and placed the book on the table between James and Sirius so they could all see the pages. “Right here,” he tapped his finger at the beginning of the chapter.

“Well, that sucks. Anyone down for some _‘instant death?’”_

“Okay, so we need to keep it in our mouth for a full month,” Peter sat back down. “Now we need a _reason_ to not talk. And to actually _stick_ to it,” he added, shooting a pointed glance at James.

“Sirius is worse than I am!” 

“You keep telling yourself that.” Sirius smirked, before continuing. “We could say we lost our voices for some reason…no, that’s dumb.”

“Wait, that’s it!” James snapped his fingers.

“What is?”

“The Lip-Lock Jinx!” 

Peter frowned. “Isn’t that the jinx that the seventh years keep using on each other?”

James nodded triumphantly. “When you’re jinxed, you can’t speak until you kiss _‘the one you most desire._ ’ We could _totally_ use that as an excuse.”

“Wouldn’t it be suspicious that all three of us were jinxed at once?” Sirius frowned, “besides, how would we get the jinx off once we’re done? I know _you_ want to kiss Evans, but I have no idea who it’d be for me. I don’t want to be rendered mute until I get that figured out.”

“There’s a _countercurse,_ idiot,” James rolled his eyes, “it’s just that the only person who can use it is the one who jinxed you in the first place. So we’ll just jinx each other and undo it at the end of the month.”

“Is it nonverbal, though?” Peter asked, “Because, you know, we _won’t be able to talk?”_

James's face fell. “Oh, yeah. I guess we could ask one of the seventh years… except I don’t think anyone has actually used it.”

“Wait, we’re stupid,” Sirius said suddenly, “we could just _pretend_ we’re jinxed. All we have to do is not talk.”

“Are you _sure_ you could manage that?” James asked cheekily. “I think that’d work, though. The only trouble is that everyone _knows_ that I like Lily. If I have the jinx on me, everyone will expect me to kiss her,” he sighed. “How about _you_ have the jinx on you, and Peter and I will take a vow of silence as _‘moral support?’”_

“Why _me?”_ Sirius protested, “Again, I don’t know who I’d want to kiss!”

James looked confused. “ _Really?_ You flirt with like, every girl who _looks_ at you. Surely there’s _someone.”_

“That’s because it’s _easy,”_ he rolled his eyes, “all you have to do is smile, and they run away giggling to themselves.”

“I don’t have anyone, either,” Peter commented, “I think it’s just you, James.”

“Oh.” James frowned. “Alright, then. But it still won’t work if _I’m_ jinxed; not if we want to be inconspicuous about this.”

“ _Fine,_ I’ll do it,” Sirius sighed, “not _actually,_ but you know what I mean.”

“Perfect, now we just need to figure out how we’re going to get the leaves.”

* * *

“Hey guys—” Remus barreled into their dorm, dragging his bag behind him and letting it fall to the floor. Though it was only Monday night, he was already behind on schoolwork after spending the whole weekend sleeping.

Peter and Sirius jumped away from James's bed, where they had gathered to compare their research. They had yet to find the exact potion recipe for the Animagus transformation, but thankfully, they wouldn’t need it until the next full moon.

“What are you guys doing?” Remus narrowed his eyes at his friends, who stood awkwardly around the bed, trying to act natural.

“Um—”

“Charms essay,” Sirius supplied, and sighed in relief when Remus only nodded, heading into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Remus was still fairly sore from the full moon, but he’d forgone the pain relieving potion that Madam Pomfrey provided him, as he’d already taken them for the last two days. Taking more than two doses always made him feel sick and feverish, so he’d much rather deal with the pain. Hot water from the shower would be enough to help him sleep it off.

The full moon made him clumsier than normal, too. It could be from his aching joints, or the way his muscles shook from exhaustion, or maybe he was simply unbalanced. On his way out of the shower, he nearly tripped over his pajama bottoms and wound up smashing his foot into the leg of Peter’s bed.

 _“Shit,”_ Remus hissed, crumpling to the floor, “oh, bloody fucking hell that _hurt.”_ He fumbled for his wand through the bundle of robes in his hands, finding it in one of the pockets and casting _leniens_ over his foot. The sharp pain faded into a dull ache, and Remus carefully lifted himself off the floor.

When he looked up, it was to see James and Sirius staring at him in horror. “What?” Remus asked. He glanced behind him, then back at his friends. “ _What?_ Why is everyone looking at me? _”_

Sirius watched him with wide eyes. “You just said—” 

James swallowed. “You can’t _say_ that!”

“Oh, please,” Remus scoffed, “it’s not like anyone _heard_ me.”

“Still!” he insisted.

“Wait a minute,” Remus paused, tucking his bundle of robes under his arms. “James _Fleamont_ Potter, are you _afraid of swearing?”_

“What? No!” James answered quickly, “I swear _all_ the time.”

Sirius laughed, but abruptly stopped when Remus rounded on him, too.

“Sirius? _You’re_ afraid of swearing too, aren’t you?”

“I’m not afraid of swearing!” Peter announced proudly, sitting up straight. “Shit!”

“Great job, Pete.” Remus turned to the others. “C’mon, guys, just say _one_ swear. You aren’t going to get in _trouble—_ what am I going to do, _report you?”_

“Well, you _are_ a prefect—” James began.

“Say _‘shit.’”_ Remus said again.

“No.”

“Say it.”

“NO.”

“SAY IT.”

James spluttered, opening and closing his mouth a few times before speaking in a tiny voice. “Shit.” He immediately flushed, burying his face in his hands.

“Two down, one to go,” Remus sighed and turned to Sirius. “Your turn.”

“No way!”

“You can’t be punk rock if you’re afraid to say _‘shit,’_ Sirius.”

“I _am_ punk rock!”

“Not if you can’t swear.”

Sirius grumbled something under his breath and folded his arms across his chest. After a long silence, he finally gave in. “Shit."

“We'll have to work on that," Remus sighed. He congratulated himself on a job well done, and passed out as soon as his head hit his pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some magical theory fun facts:
> 
> [Falco Aesalon](http://www.https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Falco_Aesalon) is canonically the first Animagus, but the rest of the Animagus theory in this chapter is original! The "Lip-Lock Jinx" comes from cassisluna, the author of "Lip-Lock Jinx" here on AO3 (though they don't take credit for the original idea)


	3. Grand Theft Auto: Herbology Drift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my lovely friend, Andie ([femmedefoi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/femmedefoi/pseuds/femmedefoi)) who suggested the title for this chapter!

Sirius stood just outside Greenhouse Three, wrapped securely in the invisibility cloak. The light of the waning moon was just enough to see across the grounds as he kept watch. It should only be another few minutes—all James had to do was find the mandrakes and grab a few leaves. Sirius hoped the mandrakes had shed their leaves recently—if not, they would have to make a break for it. Mandrakes  _ hated _ having their leaves clipped. 

They had no such luck. Moments after a piercing scream sounded across the grounds, James burst through the doors with a fistful of leaves, looking around frantically.

“Over here!” Sirius opened the cloak just long enough for James to hurry under it. They didn’t wait to see who would come to investigate the commotion—James tucked the leaves into his pocket, and they rushed into the castle.

“Did you get them?” Peter whispered as Sirius carefully shut the door to their dorm.

“Of course I did,” James dug the leaves out of his pocket and handed one to Peter. “Put a Stasis Charm on that, yeah?”

“Was that you that made that sound?” 

Sirius winced. “You heard that?”

“Only faintly,” Peter assured him, “if anyone else heard, they’ll probably just think it was a prank.”

James passed Sirius the second leaf and yawned deeply. “I’m going to bed,” he announced.

Sirius cast a strong stasis charm on his leaf and tucked it into his trunk while the others murmured their agreements. They quietly got ready for bed, careful not to wake Remus. 

* * *

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Lily dropped her books on the library desk and brushed the hair out of her face. “I got caught behind a group of Potter’s  _ admirers.” _

Remus snorted, moving his bag off the seat next to him so she could sit down. “ _ Admirers?” _

“That’s putting it politely,” she answered, “ _ stalkers _ is more like it. I don’t know about you, but I would never resort to following someone around just because I find them  _ attractive _ .”

“It _is_ pretty creepy when you put it that way,” Marlene commented, glancing up from her essay, “hey Remus, what’d you put for transfiguration spells that are Unfixed? **”**

“There aren’t any, remember?” He answered, “they only exist in theory—only charms can be Unfixed **,** and there’s only a few of them that are.” He turned to Lily, “it really isn’t that bad, actually.”

“ _ You  _ try wrestling through a crowd of them, then,” she grumbled, “I don’t know what they see in him, anyway.”

“I don’t know, I think they’re cool,” Mary twirled a lock of hair around her finger, “Potter and Black. They’re badass, you know?”

“Oh, please. They can’t even swear without  _ blushing, _ ” Remus stifled a yawn. The full moon was only a week away, and Remus was always extra sleepy on the days surrounding it. 

“You’re kidding, right?” Marlene scoffed, “I mean,  _ shit _ , I was swearing as soon as I was out of the house. I didn’t know it was  _ possible _ for fifteen-year-olds to not swear.”

He nodded in agreement and scribbled another sentence on his parchment. “Mary, can I borrow  _ Magical Disorder _ when you’re done with it?”

“Oh, I’m finished,” she slid the textbook across the table.

“Cheers.”

Remus was nearly done with his essay when someone appeared to his right. They dropped a thick textbook onto the table with a  _ smack _ , making him flinch.

“Hey, guys,” Sirius said casually, claiming the empty seat next to Remus. “How’s it going?” He opened the textbook to the table of contents and started skimming the pages. After a minute of silence, he glanced up to see everyone staring at him. “What?”

“I have  _ never _ seen you use the library to study,” Remus studied the pages in Sirius's hands.

“What, I’m not allowed to  _ start _ ?” He asked good-naturedly., “You say that like it’s a crime.”

“No, it’s just…” Remus looked back to Lily, Marlene and Mary. None of them were friends with Sirius—in fact, they spent a lot of their time complaining about him.

“Oh,  _ sorry,” _ Sirius said, “am I interrupting something?” He winked at Remus.

“Huh? Oh come  _ on, _ Sirius,” Remus rolled his eyes, “I can have friends who are girls without  _ dating _ them.”

Sirius gave him a doubtful look.

“Alright, you caught us,” Marlene gave a dramatic sigh, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. She scooted her chair closer to Mary and threw her arm around her shoulders. “You’re right, Sirius, you  _ can’t _ be friends with someone without dating them. The truth is, Mary and I—” She paused for emphasis, “are  _ dating.” _

“Oh! Yes,” Mary agreed, in the least-convincing way possible. “Definitely. Marlene and I? Totally. We kiss like, all the time.”

“Okay, okay, I  _ get it _ ,” Sirius raised his hands in defeat, “that was a stupid joke, I’m  _ sorry. _ ”

Remus hummed in agreement. “So, again,  _ why _ are you here?”

Sirius glanced up from his book. “To read this book?”

“Yeah, but  _ why?”  _ He peered at the pages. “What would  _ you _ want with a book called...called  _ Tinctures and Transfiguration?” _

He huffed. “Because I asked Slughorn what potions the Death’s-head Hawk Moth is used in, because I was  _ curious _ , and he started spouting all of this stuff about—about  _ enantiomers, _ and  _ solvation, _ so now I’m trying to figure out what it all means.”

Remus stared at him. “This is just an elaborate excuse to procrastinate your transfiguration homework, isn’t it?”

“Oh, Moony,” Sirius crooned, “you know me too well.”

“Ugh, you too?” Remus wrinkled his nose at the nickname.

Mary leaned towards him. “Did he just call you  _ Moony?” _

He rolled his eyes and nodded, giving Sirius an annoyed look.

“What’d you do to earn  _ that _ nickname?” She laughed, “did you drink too much Firewhiskey and show everyone your—”

“ _ No,  _ I did  _ not!” _ Remus interrupted, causing the others to burst into laughter. 

“Oh,  _ no _ ,” Sirius snickered. “What he did was  _ much _ worse than that.” 

“Shut it, Sirius!” he threatened, “or I’ll tell them about what you did during the last game of truth or dare!”

* * *

A couple hours later, Sirius left Remus in the library to head back to their dorm. James and Peter, he knew, would be working on homework and research there. Over the last month, they’d managed to continue their research without alerting Remus (or anyone else, for that matter) of their plan. They’d figured out everything they needed to know—except for the potion recipe.

Luckily, Sirius had just solved that problem.

“Guys, check it out!” Sirius got their attention as he tossed his bag onto his bed. He opened the copy of _Tinctures and Transfiguration_ that he’d borrowed from the library. “Look what I found.”

Peter and James crowded around him, looking at the page the book was opened to.

“Merlin, is that—”

“That’s the potion recipe!”

“That it is,” Sirius confirmed proudly, “brewing instructions and all.”

“Okay, hang on,” James grabbed a scrap of parchment to start a list. “What do we need?”

“A clean phial,” Peter read from the page, “a silver teaspoon of dew, the moth chrysalis, ten drops of  _ aqua fortis, _ and the mandrake.”

“Got it,” James said, “does it say anything else?”

“Yeah, it says what we need to do until we can drink the potion,” Peter said, “look, there’s an incantation.”

“ _ Amato Animo Animato Animagus,” _ James read, “seems easy enough.”

“Alright, so we have the leaves,” Sirius counted on his fingers, “James, are you able to get the chrysalises?”

“Yeah, I told my dad I wanted to experiment with the Nightshade potion, so he’s going to send me some.”

“Excellent.” Sirius put a check mark next to  _ ‘chrysalis’ _ on the list. “We already have  _ aqua fortis _ in our potions kits, so the only thing we’ll need to get is the dew.”

“I’ll nick a teaspoon from breakfast tomorrow morning,” James said, “I’ll go into the forest to get some in a few days.”

“Do we just put it in a phial until we need it?” Peter looked at the book, “it just says it can’t be touched within the last seven days.”

“I’ll get a phial full and we’ll measure from that when we do the potion,” he answered, “we should head down to dinner; we don’t want Moony to get suspicious.” he tucked the notes into the textbook and handed it to Sirius.

Sirius stowed it in the bottom of his trunk and ran to catch up with James and Peter on their way to the Great Hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magical theory fun facts!!  
> The "Fixed" vs "Unfixed" theory is the magical equivalent to [reversible](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_process_\(thermodynamics\)) and [irreversible](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_process_\(thermodynamics\)) processes in physics! 
> 
> The [potion recipe](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Animagus_potion#Recipe) and the [incantation](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Animagus_Spell) are canon, minus the aqua fortis (which I feel is necessary bc mixing a bunch of solid ingredients wouldn't do much otherwise) and the medium grey color.


	4. Put The Leaf In Your Mouth

With their research complete, the three boys anxiously waited for the full moon to arrive. They spent the remaining week that led up to it on their schoolwork, trying to get caught up on the homework that they had fallen behind on.

Finally, _finally,_ the moment came when Professor McGonagall entered the Gryffindor common room to retrieve Remus. She asked him to accompany him to her office under the guise of _“prefect business,”_ and all four of them immediately got the hint.

The three of them retreated to their dorm once Remus was gone and carefully took out each of their mandrake leaves. 

“Our stasis charms would’ve worn off by now, yeah?” Sirius held his leaf up to the light to examine the veins running through it. Just in case, he cast the countercharm. “So what, we just stick it in our mouths?”

“Basically,” James shrugged. “We can use permanent sticking charms to keep it there, so we don’t have to worry about it.”

“But…it’s _permanent,”_ Peter said slowly.

“Yeah, but not _really,”_ he answered, “not when they’re used on _people._ ”

“Alright, then,” Sirius took a deep breath, “here goes nothing.” He cast the charm on the leaf and shoved it into his mouth.

* * *

The next morning, the three of them were understandably exhausted. As it turned out, sleeping with a mandrake leaf adhered to the roof of your mouth was rather uncomfortable. By the end of breakfast, Sirius had accidentally spoken a few times without even realizing it. On their way to their first class, James pulled him aside.

 _“Sirius,_ ” he hissed, “if you can’t remember to not talk, I’m _actually_ going to jinx you!” He had to speak slowly, so as to not disturb the leaf.

“Right, I know, I know,” Sirius nodded, “I’ll do better, I promise. I just keep forgetting.”

Their first class was rather uneventful, as they were only focusing on charms theory, rather than practical application. Sirius was rather dejected by the end of it, as he knew by then that he _definitely_ needed James to cast the jinx on him if he was going to keep his mouth shut for the next month.

Out of curiosity, James attempted the jinx wordlessly. It took a couple attempts, but eventually an uncomfortable feeling settled in the back of Sirius’s throat as the spell took effect. It was as if his throat was full of phlegm and preventing him from speaking. 

By noon, word of Sirius’s predicament had spread throughout the school. Sirius was thankful that no one had asked him who he wanted to kiss, yet—because he didn’t _know_ who he wanted to kiss (although, he knew that there was obviously _someone,_ given that the jinx was working.) 

Their last class of the day was Transfiguration, and at that point, all of their professors had heard, too. 

"Mr. Potter,” Professor McGonagall asked after she dismissed the class, “care to explain why _you_ aren't speaking, either? It was my understanding that it was Mr. Black that was under that insufferable jinx, not you."

James grabbed his quill and started writing on the corner of his notes, _well, I've taken a vow of silence for Sirius. As moral support, you see._

“That’s… _interesting_.” She pursed her lips. “Because I was under the impression that _you_ were the one to jinx him in the first place, is that correct?”

He gasped, pressing his hand to his chest in mock offense. _I am_ _deeply_ _offended, Minnie! How could you_ _ever_ _accuse me of such a thing?_

She pressed her lips into a thin line, as if she were trying to hide a smile. “It better not affect your grades, Mr. Potter, understand?” She sighed. She was _technically_ obligated to reprimand James for jinxing other students, but unless she got a confirmation from Sirius, there was nothing she could do. 

James saluted her in response.

“And you, Mr. Pettigrew?” She raised an eyebrow at Peter, who was shouldering his bag. “I suppose you have the same excuse, as well?”

Peter grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

“Right, then.” Professor McGonagall sighed, shaking her head as the boys left her classroom. 

Remus had slept for almost the entire day after the full moon, so it wasn’t until noon the next day that he caught wind of the rumors. To Madam Pomfrey’s dismay, Remus was up earlier than usual to start working on the homework and notes he’d missed during the transformation.

“Hey, Sirius,” Remus didn’t seem very surprised when he joined him in the library. “How’s the Lip-Lock going?”

Sirius slumped into the seat next to him and let his head fall against the desk.

Remus chuckled. “Not well, I suppose?”

He turned to glare at Remus, though he wasn’t _actually_ as grumpy as he was acting. Sure, not being able to talk was frustrating as _hell,_ but all he had to do was think about how he was doing it for Remus, and he’d feel a little better.

Of course, he couldn’t act _happy_ about it, as that’d arouse too much suspicion. So, grumpy it was.

“Well,” Remus quipped, “perhaps you shouldn’t have made him go skinny-dipping in the Great Lake last weekend during truth-or-dare.”

Sirius grinned at the memory. That _was_ pretty funny—it wasn’t _his_ fault that the Giant Squid had stolen his clothes. It was the perfect set up for the jinx, anyways. 

“Who do you want to kiss, anyways?” 

Sirius frowned. After a moment, he dug through his pocket for the scrap of parchment that he and James used to pass notes during classes. He vanished some of the ink with a flick of his wand and wrote, _I don’t know yet._

Remus raised an eyebrow. “How do you not _know?”_

 _I don’t know! I know there must be_ _someone_ _, since the jinx worked, but I just don’t know who it is._

“I didn’t know it worked like that,” Remus frowned, “although, the jinx _means_ for you to kiss _‘the one you most desire’—_ who says that has to be someone you actually want to kiss? Why can’t it be, like, the one you don’t want to kiss the least?”

 _How am I supposed to figure out who to kiss, then?_

“Well, I dunno, who are you least repulsed by?”

Sirius furrowed his brow. Kissing was never _just_ kissing _._ Kissing someone would likely involve being pressed up against someone—someone who could feel when his breath caught or if he flinched when their hand accidentally brushed a bruise. _No_ , Sirius decided with a small shudder, it was the touching that repulsed him. It wasn't _who,_ it was _what._

 _I’m not really ‘repulsed’ by anyone,_ he wrote finally, _unless maybe if they’re a Slytherin_ _._

“Okay, no Slytherins,” Remus snorted, “good luck figuring it out, then.” He turned back to his book.

* * *

“Mr. Black?” Professor McGonagall paused in her lecturing, twirling her wand in her hand. “ _Mr. Black.”_

Sirius jolted awake just before his head hit the desk, and he nodded rapidly to try and show that he was awake.

“If you’re going to be uncommunicative in my class, Black,” Professor McGonagall said sharply, “then at least have the decency to _pay attention—_ and that goes for you too, Mr. Potter,” she added when James’s shoulders began to shake with silent laughter.

Though it had only been a week since they started the so-called _‘Mandrake Incubation,’_ they were already experiencing unexpected side-effects—and in Sirius’s case, that meant he was _exhausted_. It didn’t help that, when he was able to finally go to sleep for the night, he found that he _couldn’t_ because of the way his heart was racing.

James was obviously struggling too, though his trouble was mostly with concentration and sitting still—he was bouncing his leg, tapping his fingers, chewing on his quill—doing just about _anything_ to stay moving. It was starting to wear on Sirius’s nerves. Although, his frustration could also be a side-effect as well.

Peter, on the other hand, wasn’t having _quite_ the same problems as Sirius and James. He was just as exhausted, of course, but he’d resorted to sleeping during his every spare moment—which left him with just enough energy to pay attention in class (or at least, _appear_ to pay attention.) 

Sirius was really hoping that the side-effects would wear off soon; he knew from experience that potion side-effects tended to disappear after a while, but he was also unsure if they’d strengthen as more of the mandrake entered his body. 

That wasn’t something they’d anticipated; they hadn’t done any research on how the mandrake leaf might affect them other than the desired effects. Thankfully, though, Sirius was spending _lots_ of time in the library.

Remus insisted Sirius work on his homework while he was in the library, and for once, he was able to use that to his favour—he simply claimed that he was researching for his History of Magic homework. Remus wasn’t taking History of Magic that year, so the lie worked out perfectly.

Sirius vaguely recalled his Aunt Lucretia using various folk remedies whenever he was sick as a kid. _The Animagus transformation has been around for millennia,_ he thought as he wandered over to the History of Magic section. _If everyone experienced side-effects from the mandrake leaf, then surely someone tried to come up with a remedy for it._

He grabbed whatever books he could find on folk remedies and ancient medicine and carried them back to their desk. Remus gave him an odd look when he returned with his arms overflowing, the books slowly sliding out of his fingers.

“Bit overboard, don’t you think?”

Sirius rolled his eyes. _Didn’t want to make more than one trip,_ he wrote on a piece of parchment, before pulling the first book towards him.

By the time he was halfway through the first textbook, he had already resorted to skimming the pages instead of actually reading them. His concentration was severely waning by the third, and by the fourth, he was skipping to the index and skimming that instead.

Ultimately, he was glad that he hadn’t wasted too much time searching through each book, because he didn’t find anything useful until the seventh or eighth one (he lost count). In the index of _The Herbalist’s Dispensatory_ , he spotted _mandrake sickness_ listed under _topics_. 

_Seems easy enough,_ Sirius thought. Calabar beans were in every standard potion kit, and they could probably find the peppercorns in the kitchens. _Hope it doesn’t kill us._ He scribbled the recipe on his piece of parchment and decided to search through the rest of the books just in case. 

“You finally found something?” Remus peered at him from over his book. “You’ve been researching for ages and you’ve only _just_ written something down.”

Sirius laughed. _Yeah,_ he wrote with his wand, _I finally did._ He buried his head in the next textbook and hoped Remus wouldn’t suspect anything. 

He didn’t find anything new by the time dinner rolled around—just the same _‘mandrake sickness’_ remedy with a note on the dosage: one teaspoon should be taken every night. He slipped the parchment into James’s hand while they were at dinner, and by the end of the night, they had a plan to start brewing the next time Remus had prefect rounds. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magical theory fun facts:
> 
> The 'mandrake sickness' is based on the fact that mandrakes are actually [extremely toxic,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandragora_officinarum#Toxicity) and the remedy is based on [Calabar beans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physostigma_venenosum) containing the [antidote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physostigmine#Medical_uses) to the main toxic compound found in mandrake leaves. (the other ingredients are all there for a specific reason, but I wont get into that) also, I intentionally wrote it in the style of actual medical remedies (the reason they're written so strangely is because they're translated from Latin to Anglo-Saxon to English- [heres](https://books.google.com/books?id=wrPNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT111&lpg=PT111&dq=cnuca+ealle+%C3%BE%C3%A1+wyrte&source=bl&ots=XH7UsjD8BU&sig=ACfU3U2MfGAo4vPa-io1XWBRMWVPLrUU1Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjK2frSupvoAhVJlKwKHdFgAwUQ6AEwAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=cnuca%20ealle%20%C3%BE%C3%A1%20wyrte&f=false) an example!)


	5. James Cannot Handle Himself Or His Testosterone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title is another one from [Andie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/femmedefoi/pseuds/femmedefoi), based on her comment "In true Marauder form, James cannot handle himself _or_ his testosterone," which is _hilarious_ to me (btw, if you've never read any of Andie's Marauders' Era fics, you're _seriously_ missing out.)
> 
> Also, if the first segment of this chapter feels oddly familiar, that's because a lot of it was taken directly from "Snape's Worst Memory" from OOTP- with some changes, of course.

_"How do you think you did on the test?"_

_"Pretty good, I think. Not as well as Potions, though."_

_"Merlin, that test would've brought me to the top of the class if it weren't for the mudbloods crawling all around this damn school."_

_"Bullshit, Mulciber, I did better than you on that test and you know it."_

_"That's not my point, Snape. My point is that this school is infested with mudbloods and blood-traitors. Don't you think we ought to do something about it?"_

_"Like—like what?"_

_"Nothing too permanent. Just enough to scare them. How about we test out that curse you've been working on? We can start with the mudblood that hangs around you. You know, the redhead girl?"_

Sirius watched James’s hands curl into fists as he struggled to reel in his anger. The mandrake leaf had set him on edge all week, and Sirius realized that he needed to interfere before James did something he'd regret. The hand Sirius placed on James’s forearm was thankfully enough to keep him from leaping out of his seat, just as Professor McGonagall stepped in.

"Snape! Mulciber!" She interrupted their whispered conversation. "There are students still testing. Unless you want a zero, I suggest you keep quiet."

With an inward sigh, Sirius stood from his seat to turn in his test. He was just glad he’d managed to answer all the questions. Between the Mandrake side-effects and Mulciber and Snape’s conversation, there was no way he’d be able to focus on checking his work. He was getting _really_ tired of the side-effects, Thankfully, though, there was only a day left in the mandrake-sickness brewing process. 

After they were dismissed from the exam, Remus and Peter quickly found them, and they headed out to the courtyard.

James handed Remus a crumpled piece of parchment, who unravelled the note and read, _did you like question ten, Moony?_

"Loved it," Remus said briskly, _"'Describe the main difference between a Werewolf transformation and an Animagus transformation.'_ That's easy,” he laughed, “I'm not an Animagus." He flushed in satisfaction when Sirius laughed soundlessly and flashed Remus a grin. 

"I'm not sure if I got the other Animagus question, though," Remus continued, "I couldn't remember what the last step in the transformation process was."

Sirius took that as his cue to show off the new spell he'd found. He pulled out his wand and used it to write out the words, _the last step is drinking the Animagus potion during a lightning storm._ When he finished writing, the dark orange letters floated over to Remus. 

"Merlin, how'd you do that?" Remus watched in amazement as the letters began to fade. 

_The Flagrate charm_ , Sirius wrote out, giving Remus a casual shrug. _Quite handy, don't you think?_

"I'll say," Remus agreed. "How'd you know that, anyway? The Animagus question, I mean."

Sirius shrugged. _I was curious about what McGonagall had to do to become one,_ he answered. 

By now, they'd reached the courtyard, and Remus dropped his bag on the ground to sit against a tree and read a book. Sirius noticed James stiffen next to him, and he followed his line of sight to see Snape sitting alone in the shadow of a pair of bushes. He was hunched over a notebook, taking notes from what looked suspiciously like a book on Dark Magic. Sirius vaguely remembered Lily's hushed conversation with Remus in the library, in which she detailed the way Mulciber had tried to curse Dorcas Meadowes during their last Hogsmeade weekend. If Snape was hanging around Mulciber, he was likely engaging in similar acts. 

Peter watched James worriedly as he clenched his fist, and before Sirius could stop him, James had spit out his mandrake leaf and was stalking over to the bushes. 

“All right, Snivellus?” said James loudly. 

Snape reacted so fast, it was as though he'd been expecting it. Dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes, and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, “ _expelliarmus_!”

Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. As he dove for it, Sirius cast a spell that shot the wand even further away, leaving Snape sprawled across the ground and reaching desperately for his wand. 

"Leave him alone!" A voice shouted, and James spun around to see Lily Evans marching towards them. Off to the side, Remus was standing again, gripping his wand as if ready to jump in if necessary. 

"Ah, well," James said, "you see, we were just having a bit of—whoa!"

Snape had directed a spell straight at James, who barely managed to dodge it. A gash appeared on the side of his face, splattering his robes with blood, but he barely registered the pain as he flicked his wand upwards to hoist Snape upside down by his ankles. Snape’s robes fell over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants. 

“Let him down!” Lily shouted again, this time with her wand out, but her furious expression twitched as though she was going to smile.

“C’mon, Evans,” James said, “don’t make me hex you.”

“Take the curse off him, then!”

James gave a deep sigh and muttered the countercurse, leaving Snape to fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. “There you go,” he said as Snape struggled to his feet, “you’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus _—_ ”

“I don’t need help from filthy little _Mudbloods_ like her!” 

Lily blinked. “Fine,” she said coolly. “I won’t bother in the future. And I’d wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus.”_

“Apologize to Evans!” James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

“I don’t want _you_ to make him apologize,” Lily shouted, rounding on James. “You’re as bad as he is…”

“What?” James yelped, “I’d _never_ call you a—a you-know-what!”

“Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can—I’m surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head of yours. You make me _sick.”_

She turned on her heel and hurried away.

“Evans!” James shouted after her, “Hey, EVANS!”

But she didn’t look back, and James cast a desperate look to Remus, who nodded quickly. He shouldered his bag and rushed off—likely to find Alice and Marlene to help her. 

James turned to Sirius in disbelief. “What is with her?” He asked, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

 _Seems like she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate,_ Sirius answered with his wand. He personally thought it was a little unfair, considering that James was not only becoming an Animagus to help Remus through his transformations, but that he’d also thrown out his progress in an attempt to defend Lily against Snape and Mulciber. 

James looked furious and likely would’ve left to find wherever Snape had disappeared off to, but Peter put a hand on his shoulder.

He didn’t know how to pronounce the _Flagrate_ charm to cast it non-verbally, so he just tapped James on the cheek, right above the still-bleeding cut.

That seemed to get his attention. He pressed his fingers to the wound and was surprised when they came back shining with blood. Wiping his hand on his robes, James gripped his wand and pointed it at his face. _“Episkey,”_ he tried, but the spell had no effect. “ _Reparifors,”_ he tried again. _“Carnes Consuo.”_ He looked helplessly to Peter and Sirius, who watched in concern. Aside from Remus, James was the only one of them who was decent at healing spells. 

_Hospital wing,_ Sirius wrote with his wand, leading James into the castle.

* * *

It took nearly an hour for Madam Pomfrey to heal James in the hospital wing. None of her spells seemed to heal the wound, though she was able to stop the bleeding with a few drops of Dittany. “This is some really Dark Magic, boys,” she commented, “Do you have any idea what spell this is?”

They all shook their heads; Snape had cast the spell non-verbally.

“Then I’m afraid I’m going to have to stitch you up the Muggle way,” she sighed.

Much to her dismay, none of her numbing spells had any effect, either. “This seems to be an Italic curse,” she muttered under her breath. When Sirius gave her a questioning look, she added, “It’s likely derived from Latin or one of the Romance languages. However—” she pursed her lips and hurried off without warning. She quickly returned, clutching a dusty book titled _Drycræft: Anglo-Saxon Witchcraft._

“Most of these are now obsolete,” she commented as she rifled through the pages, “but they’re so old that they’re largely unaffected by the limitations that modern magic has…Ah! Here we go.” 

Madam Pomfrey set the book on James's hospital bed and carefully wiped his cheek with a damp flannel. “ _Unsarum_ ,” she cast, and James sighed in relief when the dull throbbing pain finally vanished.

“It worked,” he told her gratefully.

“Excellent, now I just have to stitch you up and you can be on your way.”

James didn’t feel grateful for long, as Madam Pomfrey then procured a curved needle attached to a thread. “That looks awfully—” he flinched away as she came closer to him with the needle.

“You won’t feel a thing, I promise,” she told him, “I’m afraid this is your only option, Mr. Potter.”

He gritted his teeth and nodded. He already felt terrible for Lily _and_ guilty for ruining his transformation progress. How much worse could a couple stitches make him feel, anyway?

James _did_ feel a strange pulling sensation as she sutured the wound shut, but he didn’t complain. She gave him a tiny jar of healing salve, instructing him to apply it every morning for the next week. At that point, she said, he should return to the Hospital Wing so she could see how it was healing.

 _That looks_ _wicked,_ _James,_ Sirius spelled out as they headed to their dorms. 

“What? What does it look like?” James lifted his hand to his cheek and was surprised to feel the rough texture of the thread. He ran into the nearest bathroom and studied his face in the mirror. “Oh _Merlin,_ this looks awful,” he groaned. “What am I supposed to tell people?”

 _The truth,_ Sirius wrote back, _tell them Snape used Dark Magic on you and it wouldn’t heal._

“But—” James hesitated, “what if that gets him expelled? Then Evans will hate me even _more!”_

Sirius was about to respond when Peter tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at Sirius quizzingly, and then gestured in the air with his wand.

 _You want the incantation?_ Sirius asked, and Peter nodded. _It’s ‘Flagrate.’ Fla-gra-tay._

A second later, Peter’s words filled the air, too. Interestingly enough, they were a slightly different shade from Sirius’s words, making it easy to distinguish between them. _What will you say when people ask you why you’re talking again, James?_

 _That’s easy,_ Sirius wrote, _just tell them you didn’t think I’d last this long. Next month we’ll say that I jinxed you as payback._

“Oh, alright,” James sighed, “Let’s just get back to the dorm. Maybe I’ll be able to put a glamour charm over this hideous thing,” he gestured to his face. 

They entered the common room to find Remus conversing with Lily, Alice and Marlene on the sofa. Lily was resting her head in her hands, and it looked like she’d been crying. 

Remus looked up when the girls abruptly stopped talking at the sight of James. “James!” Remus exclaimed, “are you alright? Did Madam Pomfrey heal you?”

“Barely,” James grumbled as he fell onto the sofa next to Remus, “it took _ages_ to find something that would _kind of_ work.”

“Wait, you’re—” he frowned. “You’re talking.”

“I might as well,” James muttered, crossing his arms, “I already broke my streak.”

 _“That’s_ what you’re upset about? _Really?”_ Lily said snidely. Her tone of voice didn’t match the tear-tracks that ran down her cheeks.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Evans,” James answered darkly, glaring at the fireplace.

“Um, I’m not sure if _I_ know, either,” Remus said uneasily, “care to elaborate, James?”

“It’s nothing,” he glanced at Remus, and the movement allowed Lily to catch a glimpse of his cheek for the first time. 

“Merlin, what _happened_ to you? Why does it look like you were in a—a bar fight, or something?”

“Dunno, maybe you should ask _Severus_.”

Lily faltered. “Sev— _Snape_ did that?”

James didn’t seem like he was in the mood to answer any more questions, so Sirius pulled out his wand. 

_We don’t know what curse he used,_ he wrote, ignoring the way Lily was suspiciously eyeing his wand. _Madam Pomfrey couldn’t get it to heal. Numbing charms didn’t work either._

Lily sat back in her chair, emotions flickering across her face at rapid speed—doubt, disbelief, regret, anger, and finally betrayal. “Oh,” she said in a small voice, “do you think—do you think it was—”

 _Madam Pomfrey said it was really Dark Magic,_ Sirius answered. _I’m sorry._

He wasn’t sorry for Snape, of course—he’d chosen to get involved with Dark Magic—but it wasn’t _Lily’s_ fault she’d been dragged along for the ride. For a moment, he thought about Regulus— _was Snape dragging him into the Dark Arts, too?_

“I’m going to McGonagall,” she said suddenly, standing so quickly that her knees banged into the coffee table in front of her. 

“Wait,” James said suddenly, “he’ll target you. Mulciber—” he hesitated. “Mulciber is already planning on it.”

Lily slowly sat down, staring at James. “What did you hear?” She asked in a low voice.

“I overheard them at the end of Transfiguration,” James ran his fingers through his hair, “Mulciber said he wants to start targeting all of the—all of the muggleborns in the school. Apparently Sniv— _Snape_ created a new curse, and Mulciber said they should test it out on you first.”

She swallowed hard, her lips pressed into a firm line. “There were others in the courtyard, yeah?” She stood again. “He won’t know it was me.” Ignoring James’s protests, she marched out of the common room, with Alice and Marlene close behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some magical theory, as always:  
>  _[Flagrate](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Flagrate)_ is a canon charm used to create lines in the air- Voldemort used it CoS to write out his name all dramatic-like, lol. 
> 
> The healing spell, _unsarum_ , comes from the Anglo-Saxon word _[un-sár](https://bosworthtoller.com/33685)_ meaning "not sore, without pain." My theory is that a Germanic spell (like one based on Anglo-Saxon) would be able to heal a sectumsempra wound because Germanic spells aren't affected by the limitations of Italic spells (sectumsempra is [Latin-based](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Sectumsempra#Etymology), making it an Italic spell)
> 
> Last but not least, _Carnes Consuo,_ one of the spells James attempted to use to heal the cut on his face, is another one I've created! If you've read _[Pinky Promise](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25680613/chapters/62348755)_ by me and [huffinglepuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/huffinglepuff/pseuds/huffinglepuff), you might recognize it! It's called the Suture Charm, and can heal deep cuts with minimal scarring. (The incantation comes from Latin caro, “flesh, body” and consuere, “to sew together, stitch”)


	6. Do Not Swallow The Leaf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is over 4k words long and i regret nothing (also my updates will probably be more frequent from now on because I've started posting on IG every day!

When Sirius went to join Remus in the library the next day, he was nowhere to be found. He browsed the shelves a bit, choosing a few books on historical potions theory, and settled into their usual spot. Finally, he remembered that Remus had swapped patrols with the Ravenclaw prefect, and he was about to leave when Lily showed up.

He offered her a small wave, but she didn’t react aside from a slight nod. She tossed her bag at her feet and slumped into the chair, staring at the table glumly.

After a few minutes of silence, Sirius figured he should at least try and talk to her. _Are you okay?_ He asked.

“Do I _look_ okay, Black?” She glowered at him. “Why do you even _care?”_

Sirius frowned. _Why wouldn’t I?_

Lily didn’t seem to have an answer for that. “You already know _why_ I’m upset,” she said finally.

He nodded in understanding. _Do you want to talk about it?_ He cringed at the cliché phrase, but it was really the best he could offer.

“How are you making the letters?” Lily diverted the conversation.

 _It’s called the Flagrate charm,_ he answered, _fla-gra-tay._

Lily cast the charm and drew a few experimental lines. “Oh, it’s pretty.” Her lines were a rich, shimmery purple that stood out against the dark ambience of the library.

 _Hey, that’s no fair,_ Sirius protested, _why are your words so much nicer than mine?_

She laughed softly. “Maybe I’m just special.”

_Can’t argue with that._

A long silence elapsed, during which Lily started working on homework for one of her classes. “Why are you reading that?” She asked finally, staring at the book in Sirius’s hands. 

Sirius looked at its cover, which depicted a colorful Roman mosaic. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell her the _truth_ —which was that he was looking for more details on the Animagus potion before it was time to brew it. _I’m putting off my homework,_ he wrote finally.

“By researching…” she squinted at the cover, “potions from the early Roman Empire??”

_Hey, desperate times come for desperate measures._

She rolled her eyes in amusement. “Whatever, suit yourself.”

Thirty minutes later, Sirius was on his fifth potions-related book when he looked up suddenly, having realized that Lily hadn’t written a word in over five minutes. Her quill was hovered over her parchment, and she seemed to be holding back tears.

Sirius panicked for a moment. _What are you supposed to do when a girl is crying?_ As a matter of fact, he didn’t know what to do when _anyone_ was crying. James was always the one to offer hugs, and Peter followed up with words of encouragement. Sirius was always at a loss as to what to do—but in his defense, he’d certainly never received either of those comforts growing up.

 _I’m sorry about what happened yesterday,_ he wrote finally, _and I’m sorry about Snape._

Lily looked up in surprise and shook her head, wiping away the tear that spilled down her cheek. “Fuck Snape,” she muttered, “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to be friends with him for so long.”

 _That isn’t your fault,_ Sirius wrote back, _he's the one who turned to the Dark Arts._

She sighed. “I know. It’s just…you don’t understand. He was my only friend for _so bloody long_ . Since I was _nine!”_

Sirius’s eyebrows shot up. _You were friends for that long?_

“Yeah,” she answered. “My sister has hated me ever since I started showing signs of magic—she even sends me letters occasionally, just to remind me of how much she despises me. Snape was the only one I had, especially during the summers. And now—”

He frowned. He’d never heard of Lily having a sister—but then again, it’s not like he’d actually spent time with her until recently.

 _“_ And now _he_ hates me too, because I’m a muggleborn.” 

_I know how you feel, I think,_ Sirius wrote.

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “How so?”

Sirius took a deep breath. _My whole family hates me—even my brother, I think. I know I’m not exactly giving them much to actually_ _like_ _, but still._

She shook her head. “Not your brother,” she said quietly, “Regulus doesn’t hate you.”

_How do you know?_

She smiled softly. “I’ve hung out with him a few times,” she said, “because of Snape. He would _not_ stop talking about you—I think he thought he was being subtle,” she laughed. “I don’t think the others picked up on it, at least.”

 _Oh,_ a wistful smile spread across Sirius’s face. _Thank you for telling me that._

“No problem,” she waved her hand. “Hey, can I ask you a question?” 

_Go for it._

“Why was Potter so upset about talking again?”

Sirius shrugged. _He was doing it for me, that’s all._

She rolled her eyes. “Bullshit, what’s the _real_ reason?”

He slumped his shoulders. _That’s not for me to tell,_ he told her. 

Lily seemed to be expecting that answer, for she nodded without much protest. “I have to go, I have a meeting with McGonagall.” She stood from the desk and was about to turn away when she paused and looked back at Sirius. “You’re wrong, by the way.”

Sirius furrowed his brow. _About what?_

“There’s plenty about you to like.” She turned away before she could see the way Sirius’s face brightened.

 _Wait until James hears about this,_ he thought as she walked away.

* * *

That night, Sirius joined the others in the common room, sitting next to where Remus sat in front of the fire. He felt sleepier than normal—but that was to be expected, he supposed, given the lethargic effect of mandrakes. It was affecting Peter pretty drastically, considering that he had already passed out upstairs in their dorms an hour earlier. Luckily, James was in charge of retrieving the mandrake-sickness remedy as soon as Remus went to bed, so that Sirius and Peter could start taking it. 

“What’d you do during your free period?” Remus asked, leaning against the leg of James’s armchair.

 _Library,_ Sirius wrote. He was too tired to write out full sentences. _Talked to Evans a bit._

“You talked to Evans?” James sat up. “Did she say anything about me?”

 _No, but don’t worry,_ he wrote back, _I was sure to tell her all about your stuffed Pygmy Puff collection._

“Sirius!” James whined, “that’s _private!”_

Sirius and Remus doubled over with laughter, and it took a minute for Sirius to write his next line. _I didn’t tell her anything. She did ask why you were upset about talking again, though._

“What—what did you tell her?” James asked uneasily.

_Just that you were doing it for me, and didn't like that you’d broken your streak._

Remus looked up at James. “What’s the _real_ reason?”

“That _is_ the real reason,” James insisted, “I don’t like doing things halfway.”

Remus seemed to take that as an answer, as he returned to the notes he was taking. Sirius tried to return to the book he was reading, but found he was much too sleepy to focus. It felt like a pair of hands were squeezing his brain, gripping harder and harder the more he concentrated. Eventually he had to give up, tossing the book aside and shifting so that he could rest his head on Remus’s shoulder. 

Remus stiffened slightly at the contact, not used to having Sirius in such close proximity. “Are you okay, Sirius?”

Sirius nodded slightly, lifting his head and grappling for his wand to write ‘ _tired’_ in messy handwriting.

This didn’t do anything to ease Remus’s worries. “Have you been sleeping well? Why are you so tired?” He pressed a hand against Sirius’s forehead to check his temperature and was surprised when he didn’t flinch away. 

Sirius shrugged in response and let his head fall back onto Remus’s shoulder.

“Are you having nightmares again?”

He only nodded, wishing he wasn’t such a bad liar and hoping Remus would buy it. 

Mercifully, he did. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, and Sirius felt awful for lying to him. “Why don’t you go upstairs? I still have a bit of homework to do.”

Sirius shook his head adamantly, shuffling closer to Remus to brace his arm behind his back. 

“Oh—okay,” Remus squeaked. His face reddened at the contact, but Sirius didn’t notice, as he was already asleep.

When Sirius woke, he found himself with his head in Remus’s lap. Remus was gently running his fingers through Sirius’s shoulder-length hair, sending tingles across his scalp and down his back. His eyes fluttered shut as he marveled at the fact that despite the close contact, he was totally at ease.

Remus was muttering something under his breath in an unrecognizable language, and a warm feeling bloomed in Sirius’s chest as he listened. The words seemed to bubble out of Remus’s chest, catching in his throat as if he were trying to prevent them from escaping, creating strange throaty sounds that accompanied his rolled _R_ ’s.

Sirius wanted to ask him what language it was, but he found himself not wanting to interrupt. Combined with the crackle of the dying fire, it was just so relaxing—and the way his fingers curled through Sirius’s hair felt _wonderful._ Perhaps that was the biggest clue—the fact that Sirius could stay like this for the rest of his life, and he’d die happy.

 _Fuck._ Sirius’s eyes snapped open as he realized this. That twisting sensation in his gut wasn’t anxiety, it was something completely different.

Sirius wanted to kiss him.

 _I want to kiss Remus,_ he thought in a panic, _I’m_ _gay._ He jolted up, cutting off the phrase Remus had been saying. 

“You okay, Sirius?”

Sirius slowly looked from where he’d been laying, to Remus. Their papers were scattered about the floor, and it was obvious that Remus had stopped working once Sirius had fallen asleep.

 _Sorry,_ Sirius wrote with his wand, _I didn’t mean to keep you from studying._

Remus shook his head. “No, it's okay. I needed a break.”

 _What language was that?_

He smiled shyly. “It’s Welsh. My mum taught it to me growing up.”

Sirius cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to ignore the growing panic in his chest. _I’m gay,_ he thought. He helped Remus gather the papers and helped him off the floor. _I’m going to bed,_ he wrote with his wand, _it’s late._

Remus nodded, and they retreated to their dorm, careful to not wake Peter or James.

Hours later, Sirius was still awake. Maybe it was another side-effect, or maybe it was the panic that threatened to overwhelm him at any moment. It was such a sharp contrast to the bliss he’d felt earlier that it felt even more unbearable than normal. For the first time, Sirius found himself wishing that someone would hug him—a very _specific_ someone, that is.

* * *

Sirius was in the common room, standing frozen as his father screamed at him.

No, that wasn't right. He was at home—his family had discovered his secret, and they weren’t taking it well.

He’d expected this, and honestly? He didn’t care. At least, he didn’t care until his mother drew her wand and cast a stinging hex at his face. And he _definitely_ started to care when it was _Regulus_ who was shouting at him.

“How _could_ you?” He spat. “Don’t you understand what this _means?_ How could you _leave_ me, you _bastard.”_ A cutting hex flew Sirius’s way, catching him in the shoulder and slicing across his back.

Sirius wasn’t sure if it was the hexes or the severity of the situation that was leaving him so disorientated. He had no idea where his wand was, and if he _did,_ he wasn’t sure he’d know how to use it. 

Then Regulus was gone, and Remus took his place. 

“You’re _disgusting,”_ Remus’s upper lip curled. “And the fact that you have the _audacity_ to think I might like you back— _pathetic.”_ He shook his head, raising his wand to hex him. “You’re such a _freak.”_

Whether Remus _did_ hex him or not, Sirius didn’t know, because at that moment, he finally woke up. He jolted awake, and it took him a moment to realize it had only been a nightmare. It didn’t help that his skin burned where Regulus’s hex had hit him. It wasn’t until he felt for the wound and found nothing but smooth skin that he believed it. 

He stared at the ceiling, desperately trying to suppress his gasping breaths into something quieter. His heart was racing, pounding in his ears, and he knew he’d never be able to clear his mind in this state.

He still tried, anyway. Occlumency was his best coping mechanism for nightmares; because, well, you couldn’t think about the nightmare if you prevented the thoughts from entering your mind in the first place.

But it wasn’t working, no matter how hard he tried. His nightmare was stuck at the forefront of his mind, Regulus’s words repeating themselves over and over again: _how could you leave me?_

Then there was Remus. _I can never tell him,_ Sirius decided. _He’d hate me._

_He probably already_ _does._

The anxiety washed over him, twisting in his gut, and he tried one last thing to distract himself; he held his breath. He held his breath and counted to ten, then twenty, then thirty—focusing on the burning of his lungs as they screamed for air.

He released the breath, and his heartbeat momentarily slowed—then skyrocketed again.

_This isn’t going to work._

Sirius slowly climbed out of bed, wincing at the loud creak of his bed as his feet touched the floor. For a moment, he considered waking Remus—he _usually_ went to him after a bad nightmare, after all—but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Remus hated him. Shaking his head, he crept to the door and went down to the common room.

The fireplace had burned to mere embers, and he flopped down on the couch to stare into it. 

He tried his Occlumency again, forcing himself to think of nothing but the burning cinders in his field of vision. Gradually, his awareness of his surroundings vanished—and his hearing quietened as he surrounded himself with his shields. 

“Sirius? You okay?”

Sirius snapped out of his stupor, jumping at the sound of Remus’s voice. When he nodded, he belatedly realized that there were tears running down his face.

In the low light of the fire, Remus was watching him expectantly, so Sirius drew his wand to write a response. _Just couldn’t sleep, that’s all._

“What happened?” Remus carefully sat on the couch next to him.

He shook his head. He couldn’t talk to Remus about it, he couldn’t risk letting something slip.

“A nightmare?”

Sirius blinked rapidly, desperately trying not to cry. That’d only make Remus feel like he _had_ to stay, and Sirius didn’t want to give him another reason to hate him. 

Tentatively, Remus reached out to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Sirius’s nightmare—and the image of Remus raising his wand to him—flashed through his mind, and he flinched, hard. 

Remus jerked his hand back like it burned, already apologizing before Sirius even realized what he’d done. The guilt and worry on his face was clear, and Sirius reminded himself that this was _Remus._

Remus wouldn’t hurt him. 

Sirius shook his head, not exactly sure what he was trying to say. How on earth could he convey that it wasn’t Remus’s fault? That it was nothing but a dark, twisted version of Remus created by his mind?

Remus was scooting away from him on the couch, trying to give him more space, but that was the last thing Sirius needed—so he grabbed Remus’s hand. 

Surprised, Remus stared at their hands, then up at Sirius. “You’re _shaking,_ Sirius,” he whispered.

Sirius drew an unsteady breath and mouthed the words, _‘I’m sorry.’_

“Why are you sorry?”

He shook his head frantically. He wanted to let go of Remus’s hand, lest he start to suspect something—but Remus’s grip on his hand was tight and reassuring, so he didn’t.

“You can’t tell me?” Remus asked carefully, and Sirius nodded. “Is it because of someone else, or because you don’t know how I’d react?” 

Sirius averted his eyes, staring at the couch before lifting two fingers as if to say, _‘the second one.’_

Remus was quiet for a moment. “Well, whatever it is, I don’t care.” He squeezed his hand. “You’re my best friend, no matter what.” Remus frowned when Sirius sniffled. “Come here, Sirius.” He tentatively opened his arms, beckoning him in for a hug.

He hiccupped, his breathing growing rapid in an effort to hold in his tears. By the time his arms were around Remus, he was full-on sobbing. 

“Shhh, you’re alright,” Remus comforted him, “I’ve got you.” He gently rubbed his back as Sirius clung to him. “You’re okay.”

When he pulled away, Sirius wiped his nose on his sleeve and mouthed _‘I’m sorry,’_ again. 

“Sirius,” Remus deadpanned. “Kindly, shut the fuck up,” his eyes twinkled when Sirius offered him a teary smile. “Have I ever told you about my Aunt Lowri?” Remus waited until Sirius shook his head. “Well, she’s not really my aunt—she’s my mum’s best friend.” He looked down at his hands, picking at his nails. “She uh…came out to me a few years ago, and something she said really stuck with me.”

Startled, Sirius stared at him, his eyes widening. If Remus accepted his aunt, surely he’d accept Sirius, too…right?

“She said, _‘you cannot change what you are, only what you do.’”_ Remus gave him a sad smile when Sirius hiccuped again. 

_Remus won’t hurt me,_ Sirius told himself again, letting his shoulders relax. _I’m safe with Remus._

Sirius tapped Remus’s hand so he’d look up, and mouthed _thank you._

Remus smiled softly, putting a hand on Sirius’s knee. “You should go back to bed,” he said, before drawing his wand and casting _tempus._ “It’s nearly four o’clock.” He stood up, drawing his hand away, but Sirius grabbed his hand, watching him with wide eyes. “You don’t want to be alone?” Remus asked gently, and Sirius shook his head rapidly. “That’s okay, you don’t have to be. C’mon.” 

Firmly holding his hand, Remus pulled him over to the stairs. Sirius didn’t even have a chance to worry about the fact that Remus obviously intended for them to sleep in the same bed—because by the time the thought crossed his mind, Sirius was wrapped secretly in Remus’s blankets with his head tucked under Remus’s chin. 

Remus must have heard—or felt—Sirius's heart racing, for he tightened his arms around him and rubbed his back comfortingly. "It's okay," he whispered. "You're safe with me. I got you."

Sirius didn’t have another nightmare that night. 

* * *

The next few days went without incident—Snape was avoiding them, likely after denying any knowledge of dark curses during a stern talking-to from Slughorn and McGonagall. The mandrake-sickness remedy was starting to kick in as well, so things were finally getting back to normal. On Wednesday morning, however, Peter’s progress on the Animagus transformation fell through.

Their breakfast had started out normally—quiet, but normal—but only a few minutes in, Peter suddenly jumped out of his seat with his hand clamped firmly over his mouth before hurrying out of the Great Hall. 

James, Sirius, and Remus exchanged a look, as if to say, _should we go after him?_

“Maybe he just accidentally got mushrooms in his omelette again,” James suggested. “You know that always makes him throw up.” 

Ten minutes later, when Peter finally returned to the Great Hall, he looked rather shaken up and a bit green.

“You alright, Pete?” Remus asked him when Peter didn’t divulge any information. Surprised, Peter nodded and proceeded to nibble on a piece of toast for the rest of the meal.

Before they went to their first class, Peter pulled James and Sirius aside and looked around to make sure no one was listening. “The leaf,” he said aloud. “I forgot my sticking charm this morning and accidentally swallowed it,” he told them in a hushed voice.

 _“Peter!”_ James looked at him with wide eyes. “Mandrake leaves are _toxic!”_

“I _know_ that!” Peter insisted. “That’s why I made myself throw up!”

James rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “You’re _sure_ it all came back up?” He waited for Peter to nod before continuing. “Well, looks like it’s just you left,” he directed his statement to Sirius, who shrugged. 

_Figures,_ Sirius wrote with his wand. _Let’s get to class before Remus catches on._

* * *

During their free period, Sirius joined Remus to study charms—well, _Remus_ studied charms while he waited for Lily to show up, and Sirius pretended to study charms while he silently panicked about the fact that he was _alone_ with _Remus._

Not that there was anything _weird_ about that—Remus _was_ his best friend, after all. As hard as he tried, though, Sirius couldn’t stop thinking of him as something _more._ How were you _supposed_ to act when you fancied your best mate? It was becoming increasingly difficult to act normal in front of him, especially now that he was watching Remus’s every move to ensure he didn’t learn Sirius’s secret.

“Sorry I’m late,” Lily’s voice interrupted his inner turmoil as she hurried to the library desk. “I had a—a thing,” she hesitated before quickly pulling out a chair.

“You okay, Lily?” Remus asked in concern at her frazzled appearance.

“Fine,” she said quickly, dropping her bag on the table. “Oh, _shit,”_ she blurted when its contents spilled across the desk. “Sorry, hang on—”

Before she could shove all of her textbooks and parchment into her bag, Sirius plucked an unopened envelope off of the pile and gave Lily a pointed look. 

“What? Oh, it’s just…” Lily trailed off when she saw what Sirius had grabbed. A letter from her sister.

Sirius pointed to the seal on the envelope and raised an eyebrow. 

_“No,_ I haven’t opened it,” she said with a huff, “give it back!”

He held the envelope out of reach while he wrote in the air with his wand. _Want me to read it for you?_

Lily paused, surprised. “Alright,” she agreed reluctantly.

Sirius opened the letter with his wand and skimmed it, quickly coming to the conclusion that it was nothing but hateful drivel. _It doesn’t say anything important,_ he told her. _I don’t think you should read it._

She pursed her lips. “She’s going on about how much she despises wizardkind, isn’t?” She sighed when Sirius nodded. “And by extension, me.” Lily rolled her eyes. “I wish she would give it a _rest_ already. She’ll send me a letter and it’ll get me all worked up, and when I finally _read_ the damn thing, it turns out to be utter nonsense.”

He patted her hand sympathetically. _My mum does the same thing to me,_ he wrote.

Remus interrupted the silence that followed. “Are you good to work on charms, Lily?” he asked tentatively, his gaze flicking to Sirius’s hand on Lily’s, an odd look on his face.

Sirius looked down to see his hand resting on Lily’s, and quickly pulled it away, flushing when he felt Remus’s eyes on him. He was surprised at himself for going as far as to touch Lily’s hand without a second thought. That wasn’t why he was blushing, though.

“In a minute,” Lily took the letter from Sirius and carefully folded it into its envelope without reading it. “ _Acapnosium_ _,_ _”_ she held her wand to the envelope and it burst into flames, quickly disappearing without a hint of ash or smoke. 

_“Lily!_ We’re in a _library!”_ Remus protested in a low voice, hurriedly drawing his wand in case the fire caught on anything.

 _“_ Oh, _relax,”_ she chided. “The fire won’t spread.” 

“I don’t recognize that charm,” Remus frowned, and Sirius was inclined to agree—it wasn’t a spell he’d ever heard of.

“That’s because I invented it,” Lily said proudly, twirling her wand in one hand.

“You _what?_ You _made your own spell?”_

“If Snape can do it, then so can I,” she told them smugly. “Have you noticed that awful metallic smell that _incendio_ leaves behind? Well, I wanted an alternative. _Incendio_ always ruins the smell of my candles.”

“Brilliant,” Remus shook his head in disbelief. “You’ve _got_ to show me how you did it.”

“Sure,” Lily said easily. “But _first,_ we have studying to do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magical theory, as usual:
> 
> My theory for why the _flagrate_ charm has different colors for different people is because the color is determined by the frequency of your magical core- lower frequencies are closer to red on the visible light spectrum, while higher frequencies are closer to blue/violet!
> 
> Also, the spell that Lily made: 
> 
> _Acapnosium_ comes from Latin _acapnos_ “smokeless, without smoke.” It produces fire that is smoke and ash free, and doesn't leave behind any smell!


End file.
